Turner watercolour gift to gallery in lieu of tax

THE National Galleries of Scotland has added one of JMW Turner’s “finest watercolours” to its collection without spending a penny.

The 1820 painting, Rome From Monte Mario, will take pride of place at an annual display of the artist’s work in Edinburgh next month.

The watercolour was allocated to the Scottish National Gallery under a scheme which allows people to transfer works of art to public ownership instead of paying inheritance tax.

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Gallery bosses said the painting was part of a Turner collection created by shipping magnate and educational benefactor Sir Donald Currie, who died in 1909. The identity of the donor has not been revealed.

The watercolour’s estimated value has also not been disclosed. However, it is known that the painting, which has been permanently allocated to the National Galleries of Scotland, settled a tax bill of £203,700.

Rome From Monte Mario was painted after the British artist first visited the city in 1819-20. Experts describe the view chosen for the painting as “unusual and highly ambitious”. He depicted the Italian city at sunset, looking south-east from near the top of Monte Mario and taking in a view of the dome of St Peter’s Basilica, the Castel Sant’ Angelo and the Campidoglio.

The work will join the Scottish National Gallery’s collection of 38 Turner watercolours bequeathed in 1899 by English collector Henry Vaughan.

The paintings will go on show at the gallery in Edinburgh throughout January, in keeping with a century-old tradition.

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